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The Way of the Light
"Imagine there is no heaven, it's easy if you try. ''No hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people, living for today. Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too. Imagine all the people, living life in peace. Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can. No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of men. Imagine all the people, sharing all the world." (Chant heard from followers of the "Way of the Light") History Like any ideology, so the Way of the Light has a founder too. However, there is little to nothing known about this person, not even its gender or age. The only thing that is secure is that it was a citizen of Ortus Solis, a rich country of city states. Due to the nations unique form of government, the people there always had a strong sense of freedom, which strongly contradictet their dependance on their sovereigns. Altough a heavy social crisis comparable to the Nahuatl never occured, the Solis were a some point fed up with their rulers. Led by the founder of the Way, the succeeded in brining large parts of the military to their side, what prevented this revolution to end in a blood bath like the ones before. The simple people, merchants, peasants and academics alike, took control over city after city. Unlike the ones before them they made sure to spread the information about their success among the inhabitants of every city they encountered beforehand. Like this, they could rely on the support of the locals as well as the military, which was often reluctant to go against their own people. In only a few years, they took over the entire country, and that almost peacefully. At the same time, they managed to keep up Ortus Solis' reputation as the paradise of merchants, which allowed them to prosper further and further. After they established the Way as the new form of living, they seeked out to bring their new found ideology to other kins and nations, the Nahuatl being the first among many others to follow. Philosophy "What is it, that drives men and peoples into war, makes them take up their arms and slaughter each other in endless, cruel wars? Is it hate? Greed? Is it a deep, carnal instinct, asleep in each and everyone of us? No, of course not and at the same time, all of these things. As long as intellect existed, there existed the ones seeking to suppress it. They wanted to suppress the masses, force them under their reign. For this purpose, they created gods, commandments, rules. In the beginning, their goals were noble, for they tried to force their followers to refrain from immoral behaviour, threating them with divine punishment. Only, first, they became drunk, and ultimately, corrupted by their power. Greedy and hungry for more, they used the Gods name not for establishing peace, but to start new wars, trying to destroy the other, so called "false" believes. And so, they betrayed their original idea, giving in to their lower desires. Second, there is greed. The simple desire to augment ones wealth and possession. Is this wrong? Is it wrong, to strive for a better live for oneself and ones family? No, how could it. But is it not better to try to improve everyones live at the same time, even if only a bit, than just his own by far? It is, for it prevents jealousy and makes the benefits of cooperation clear to everyone. Now, there rises but one question. Why are there wars and suffering, when it should be obvious to every thinking entity that cooperation and peaceful coexistence is more promising, no, is the only way? The answer is simple. Because the decisions to start wars, the decisions to force people under the rule of God instead of inviting them, the decisions to oppress the broad masses for benefitting a upper class, are not made by people. They are made by leaders. Because people give up on their power to decide in exchange for the promise of protection. Therefore, if one wants to achieve peace, there are four things he has to achieve: 1. Extinguish the Gods. 2. Extinguish the Ego. 3. Extinguish the Leaders. 4. Establish reason in the minds of the people. Reason is what lets a soldier in rage step back from children and women. Reason is what lets a merchant refrain from outsmart his business partners. Reason is, what lets the priest accept that not everyone is willing to follow his god. Reason, and reason only, is the Light that is able to lead all races out of the darkness. The Way of the Light is the way of the reason." Organization "For the Way of the Light is here to bring prosperity to its members, it will be reigned by its members. Every single member is to be heard, his worries and concerns will be recongized and considered. If you think the one next to you is influenced by his desire or false beliefs, say so. If you think the others overlook something that is clear to see for you, say so. If you think one seeks to harm the cause of the Way of Light, say so. For this purpose, every race shall hear all of its people, and bring their voices to the Pantheon, were they will be heard by each other. With this, and this only, with hearing the words and feelings of everyone, only like this will we be able to change the face of the world. It is not "us" or "them". It is "we". We, the inhabitants of this world should be unified in peace, not quarrel over something as insignificant as gods, or borders, or money." The Forums In fact, the Way of Light has no leader or something coming close to it. Its founder rarely makes an appearance, and so the Ways method of coming to results seems chaotic, if not anarchic to outsiders. If a decision has to be made, all citizens of all members are informed about it, and those willing and interesting to contribute travel to the Pantheon and work together with others to reach a solution. These groups are called Forums. Due to the nature of individuals, there often form camps defending their opposite decisions and opinions, and the one with the stronger arguments respectively the majority of supporters will have her plan executed. If it should fail, other groups will quickly take over and pursue a different solution. After the matter has been handled, the Forum will either dissolve if it was a one-time only occasion or keep check on it regularly. However, each person taking part is not forced to stay. Like this, most people have been in all kinds of groups, be it for trading rights, sending Lightbringers or build a new embassy. This principle is put in charge throughout all levels of society, from political discussions, down to the trial for a man accused of theft. In this case, there also will gather people interested in clearing the case, and those with ill intents are often uncovered very quickly. Due to this, sovereigns who wish to trade with the Way or often confused as to who exactly they have to talk to. Often, the group working on this matter will sent a representative who deals with the king or lord and tells him the results of the discussion. The Lightbringers The Lightbringers fulfill the roll of a missonary and an ambassador at the same time. If the Reconnaissance branch decides that a nation is worthy or ripe to receive the Ways teachings, they will travel amass to the designated land and try to spread the Ways lore among the natives. This happens in a peaceful manner, because a war to gain influence is contradicting the Ways laws. On the other hand, those who cannot or do not wish to travel stay in the schools and embassies of the Way, were they offer assistance or advice. Often, Lightvringers experienced in a certain matter are invited by Forums dealing with something related to this matter. There, they offer advice and assistance and help to clear up misunderstandings or quarrels. Also, they are always ready to answer the questions of interested travelers, and wilingly give information away. Finally, they take care of educating the upcoming generations, by bringing the lore of the Light close to them. Trading Like any organization, the Way requires money to fund it's wide spread activites, like supportive mission for remote towns and villages, building new embassies or schools and ultimately, to pay the humongous amount of workers, scholars and others who are in its service. For this purpose, they established a branch specialized on trade. This branch is responsible for the exchange of goods with allies or at least tolerant states and nations. Aside from the simple purpose of gathering money, they also work closely together with the reconnaissance branch to gather information about their partners, especially about the mood of the people and their responsiveness for the Ways teachings. After a certain while, Lightbringers will start to accompany them, trying to slowly make the natives aware of injustices they might suffer. Like this, the Way increases his funds in the same way he increases his influence. Armed Forces Altough the Way does not spread its teachings through force, it still needs a way to keep his interests in a fight with another party. For this, they created a small, but highly trained army. At the moment, it mostly constists of Nahuatl members, but the process to increase the number of each allies members is running. The tasks of the army are mainly to protect the Trading branch on its travels, for the heavly loaded caravans and airships are often targeted by pirates, highwaymen and nations in state of war with the Way. There, they eliminate any kind of threat, preventive, if necessary. Their other main task is to act as law enforcers and guards in the Ways territory. They settle bar brawls, pursue criminals, run the prisons and work camps and execute verdicts. Reconnaissance Their main job is, as mentioned before, to assess how high the chances of success for the Way are. For this purpose, they travel incognito or openly revealing their identity, depending on the nations attitude towards the Way, into a country and investigate the situation of the people. They visit taverns and gatherings, asking the peasants as well as the merchants and the nobles. Like this, they try to gather as much information as possible to ultimately give a judgement how likely it is that the state could be convinced to follow the Ways doctrines. Disposition *Towards the Order: "The Order of the Chief Goddess, is, like all religions, corrupt and hollwed out from within. It's leaders quiver in fear before the being called Demon Lord, relying on advise from their young and weak goddess. Unable to trust and rely in their own strength, they hide behind tentets and antiquated lores. They have yet to accept that the enemy they fight has changed in a way they have yet to adapt to." The Order is regarded as a remote organization, sticking to ideals and glory from the past. Altough it doesn't directly suppress its people, the legimitation of all actions through the Chief Goddess are regarded as a form of dictatorship that can hardly be tolerated. Two main Forums are currently established. One of it demands that an exception of the Ways doctrine should be made, and that the people in the Order territory should be liberated by use of the Ways armed forces. The other one, obviously opposed to it, has the opinion that the natives themselves must express the wish to change their situation, for the Way of Light is no religion, but a way to equality. *Towards the Demon Lord: "The Demon Lord is a Succubus, a creature created for giving and receiving pleasure, and her methods and ideals are as simple as that. Her underlings roam the land like animals in heat, subduing males under their carnal desire and converting females to their ranks. The peace they bring will not last, for they will slowly lead to humanities downfall. As long as there is no human born from a Mamono groin, the way of the Demons is bound to fail." The Mamono are, so to say, the arch-enemy of the Way of Light. Not because they are not humans, but because their goal of endless carnal desire and pleasure directly opposes the Ways ideal of reason as the solution for all trials. Many Forums were held about wether the Way should visit the continent, for the ways to oppose the Mamono are limited, even if one should rely on violence. Only after a protective charm was created by the Ways arcanists, enough supporters rose to finally grant an expedition under guidance of the Reconnaissance branch. * Towards neutral states: ... Magic and Techology Magic The Way has developed its own way of establishing magic in his ranks. Since they believe that something should not monopolized by a few, not even magic, they crafted what they call "Talismans". These objects are made of magic-resonate materials, like gold or obsidian, and are infused with magic. Runes on the surface can be activated by corresponding chants, which trigger the spell linked to the runes. This method allows anyone, even if he has not the slightes magic talent, to use spells. The downside is that his arsenal is limited to the spells enscribed on his Talisman, and that it needs to be recharged after a certain amount of uses. Spells * '''Heal: '''Propably one of the most basic spells, it's as simple as it is effective. The caster can heal himself of any injury, almost instantly. However, the graver the injury, the more magic is consumed for it. More advanced versions for poisoning and diseases require specific runes. * '''Blind: '''The Talisman emits a flash of strong light, blinding everyone in a near area. It can also affect the caster, if he is not careful. * '''Teleportation: '''Depending on the runes enscribed, the caster can teleport either only himself or a larger group of people to a fixed location. Distance and the amount of transported people directly affects the required magic. Technology Since the main objective of the Way is to create equal conditions for everyone, their Research department alsow works under this directive. Their progresses in the field of Magi-Tech, so technology infused with magic, led to the development of a few objects and weapons that allow even someone without any magical talent to use the benefits ot the latter to his or her advantage. In the following, there is a list of a few of these objects. * '''Talisman of Light: '''As mentioned above, a Talisman of Light allows the user to perform a variety of spells, depending on which are enscripted in his Talisman * '''Magi-Tech Guns: '''These guns work with a mixture of regular gunpowder and magic enhanced liquids. These liquids are crafted from magic gems, that have been infused with a certain element beforehand. In combination with magic runes encarved into the barrel of the gun, they develop a terrifying fire-power, compared to their small size. Joined Factions The Way of the Light is an alliance of a multitude of races and nations. (Organizied after the date they joined) *Ortus Solis: A human nation, the Way originates in this country. *Nahuatl: A race of Demi-humans, resembling lizards or dragons. *Huayuán: A country, resembling Zipangu or Mist in culture. * ... Members Known members of the Way. (Organized after the date they joined.) * Lightbringer Tonauac * Khayra Bahram * Polia Precimea *... Category:Factions Category:Nova Mondo Category:BacaloV